Deputy editor-in-chief of the Index.hr website comments on latest events.
In recent days, several incidents have again brought into question the values which the Croatian society and state advocate. Retired General Mirko Norac, who was found guilty of war crimes by a Croatian court, attended a monument unveiling ceremony where he was specifically greeted by the veterans affairs minister. The Municipal State Attorney’s Office in Split announced that it would not prosecute a war veteran who wrote that journalists of Index.hr, the most popular news website in Croatia, should be killed. The police have also announced that they would not report controversial singer Marko Perković Thompson for using the “For Homeland Ready” slogan at his recent concert in Glina, even though the slogan was used during the times of the Nazi-puppet Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945). Also, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić recently compared Croatia with Nazi Germany.
Deputy editor-in-chief of Index.hr Neven Barković spoke about these events, reports N1 on August 8, 2018.
What is your opinion about the fact that General Norac appeared in Ljubovo at the unveiling ceremony for a monument dedicated to killed soldiers?
It seems to me that this is quite significant. Norac is a convicted war criminal, he was sentenced that he personally killed a woman. He did not appear in public for years. However, his appearance might be a smaller problem than the fact that he was there publicly greeted by Veterans Affairs Minister Tomo Medved. He welcomed a convicted war criminal on behalf of the government, which is problematic and had not happened before, at least not in this way.
Has anybody from the government reacted to this?
I do not have any information about that. I saw that President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović said that Norac had served his sentence and that he is a citizen like everyone else, but I disagree with that position.
In Knin, the president was photographed with Stipe Perković Tabak, who threatened the journalists working for Index.hr.
He is a war veteran who wrote under one of Index.hr’s articles that its journalists should be killed. We have reported it to the police, the police questioned him, but the Municipal State Attorney’s Office in Split rejected the report because it was neither a threat nor an intimidation. They said that it is quite okay to write to a very specific group of people “You should be killed.” The prosecution thinks there is nothing criminal about it, adding that such sentences are inappropriate and unacceptable. I wonder who should allow or ban it if not the state attorney’s office.
One former SDP member ended up in a prison for a lot less.
There was a whole series of such cases. I remember there was a disturbed man who called the Office of the President and he was immediately reported. Some people sent messages to Prime Minister Plenković and they were reported. A man who sent a message to Sisak Bishop Košić was driven by the police from Murter to Sisak. What criteria are we talking about here? I am very interested to know what would happen if someone were to send a mail to the government or the Office of the President with the message “You should all be killed.”
Did the Office of the President respond to your question as to why she was photographed with Tabak?
The president and prime minister were in Sinj and he was photographed with them. He posted the photos on his social network profile. The Office of the President said that they have no idea who this person is and that the president is willing to be photographed with anyone who wants it. The problem is that anyone can get so close to the president who is the best-protected official in the country. The threat to Index journalists was described by the Office of the President as an expression of dissatisfaction. Today we received a very general response from the government that they condemn all hate speech and all threats. I have nothing against insults, but I think they should draw a line at threats. It turns out that threats sent to journalists in Croatia are either not being prosecuted or the perpetrators cannot be identified… And this sends a message that it is perfectly all right and that it is okay to threaten journalists. People have started commenting openly that we really should be killed because they can see that such behaviour is not punished.
How do you comment on Thompson’s chant in Glina?
This is the most striking thing. This year he has not been reported for doing the same thing as last year, because the police have decided in advance what the court would decide, referring to non-existent court practice. There is one judicial decision. The police are pretending that we have an Anglo-American court system based on precedents. But even such decisions have to be made by the courts, not by the police. We have a shift towards making Ustasha ideology something which is accepted, and this is disastrous for a country in 2018.
What about a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić who compared Croatia with Nazi Germany?
It is ridiculous to compare Croatia with a regime that has industrially killed millions of people in death camps. He will soon have to admit that Kosovo is lost for Serbia and is doing this for his internal political goals. His greatest punishment is that he is not supported by the international community, even Russia, even though he constantly talks about it. But we have to focus more on the problems we have in Croatia and leave Vučić to deal with their problems.
And what about Milorad Pupovac, who represents the Serb national minority in the Croatian parliament? Was he supposed to leave the event when Vučić made his statement?
Not only that he should have left, but he should not have even been there because he could have known what Vučić would say. When the statement was made, he should have left and commented on it much sooner. And even when he did comment, he did not condemn this incredible comparison. He said that he understood his fellow Croat citizens, but… There should be no “but.” He behaves quite hypocritically, but many representatives of the left side of the political spectrum in Croatia refuse to say anything negative about his hypocrisy. Many nationalists hate him just because he is a Serb, but that does not mean that he cannot be wrong. In this case, he is wrong, making the wrong moves and that will return to haunt him sooner or later.
Translated from N1.
